La Salle Police investigate man’s death

Police and the coroner’s office are looking into the death of a 41 year old man in La Salle.  Police say they were called to 935 Canal Street Monday night.  There they found Charles E. Taylor dead inside of the home.  Autopsy results are pending.  Police say there was nothing to suggest foul play.

Major Pot Bust On I-80

A man passing thru the area allegedly had more than just furniture packed into a rental truck.

68 year old Manuel Ochoa of Arizona was pulled over Thursday for a minor traffic violation while going east on I-80 near Marseilles.  After finding out that he was allegedly driving on a suspended license, police and a K-9 dog searched the rental truck and allegedly found 15 cardboard boxes filled with marijuana hidden behind a fake wall.  The total weight of the marijuana was said to be 416 pounds.

Ochoa was arrested for cannabis trafficking and taken to the county jail.  He’s still there on 250 thousand dollars bond.

No Arrests In Peru Burglaries

Peru investigators are still looking for suspects in last week’s burglaries of Big Lots and Napa Auto Supply.

Deputy Chief Bob Pyszka says they haven’t had any solid public tips or leads into finding what he thinks are a group of suspects that are professional criminals.  If you have any information, call the Peru PD or Illinois Valley Crime Stoppers.

The suspects are accused of breaking into Big Lots and Napa Auto Supply sometime Thursday night into Friday morning and stealing an undisclosed amount of cash and merchandise.  They’re also accused of stealing a U-Haul truck and white cargo van from Rental Pros.

School Closed Because Of Death

Classes are canceled today at Peru Catholic School.

65 year old teacher’s assistant Jeanne Taliani died Thursday at her home.  She worked at Peru Catholic for 28 years.

Services for Jeanne Taliani can be heard on AM 1220 WLPO’s In Memorium.

Replacement School Could Have New Name

When Ottawa builds a new elementary school, what should its name be?

The Ottawa Elementary School Board is meeting tonight at six and one of their topics is a possible name change of Central Elementary School.  The new school will replace the old flooded out Central Elementary but it will be on the southern edge of town, not in a centralized spot.

The district may send out a survey to get the communities opinion on the new school’s name.

City Discusses Future Of Pool

Stores are again stocking swim wear, signally the winter will soon be over and summer on the way.

In Peru, they’re looking ahead to the swimming season and what it means for their aging outdoor pool.  The pool looses an estimated 50 thousand gallons of water a day when it’s operating.

Alderman Tony Ferrari is the chairman of the recreation committee.  They’ve been discussing the future of the pool, including leaving it closed for 2010.  Ferrari plans to have more figures on the pool for a more in depth discussion at the next informal meeting.

Alderman Dave Potthoff says he wants to know more, like how much repairs would cost, before they decide to close the pool.

About a dozen turn out for TIF public hearing

A corner lot north of the Interstate 80 and Route 251 interchange in Peru is a great place for a business, but it’s occupied by an old, obsolete motel.  Developers have been scoping out the once Howard Johnson, more recently EconoLodge and turning away because the cost of doing anything with the building or land would be millions of dollars.
That’s one reason why Peru officials are including the lot in a proposed commercial TIF district.  It would be the city’s third and including other old motels and two former truck stops along May Road.
About a dozen people attended a public hearing about the TIF Monday night.  One of them was the superintendent of the Dimmick School District.  He says he understands the city including the old properties, but doesn’t see why they need to include things like some undeveloped land and a new Holiday Inn and Suites.
Herb Klein is the attorney handling TIF matters for Peru.  He says they had an agreement with the hotel developers saying they would do a TIF study and the developers would take the chance and build.  Klein says the land the hotel is on has drainage issues that significantly added to the development cost, making it TIF eligible.
Taco Bell, Cabin Fever, the Baymount Inn, and several other existing businesses and undeveloped land are not being included because officials don’t belive they fit the criteria.